News/links
January 11, 2025
The PolyMet denouement is here
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has finally thrown in the procedural towel on the state's first proposed sulfide mine
threatenedwaters.com

December 30, 2024
Water Over Nickel
Water Over Nickel is an initiative led by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and allied organizations and experts dedicated to protecting Minnesota’s water, environment, and communities from the risks associated with nickel mining.
waterovernickel.com

December 30, 2024
Why Minnesota’s water future matters for everyone
The Mille Lacs Band, in its concern about the proposed Tamarack nickel mine, is standing with all Minnesotans who understand that our fates are intertwined.
www.startribune.com

December 23, 2024
Twenty years after first proposed, NewRange still vying to build Minnesota’s first copper mine
Nearly 20 years after it was first proposed to state and federal regulators, the project formerly known as PolyMet Mining — now NewRange Copper Nickel — soldiers on, despite environmental groups’ contention that the project in its current form is dead.
www.mprnews.org

December 21, 2024
Talon Metals' MN nickel mine changes plans in environmental review
The Tamarack Mine, which would supply Tesla's EV batteries, will take a more direct route to its ore.
www.startribune.com

November 28, 2024
Minnesota DNR hits pause on NorthMet (PolyMet) copper-nickel mine permit review
A decision on whether to reissue a permit to mine for the company vying to open Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine is on hold after the company behind it said it is studying potential changes to the controversial project’s design.
www.twincities.com

November 27, 2024
Minnesota DNR suspends review of PolyMet mine project
The Minnesota DNR recently announced it will suspend its review of the PolyMet copper-nickel sulfide permit until late next year.
queticosuperior.org

November 25, 2024
Minnesota DNR delays decision on key proposed copper-nickel mine permit
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has delayed a decision until late next year on a key permit for the proposed NewRange Copper Nickel project in northeastern Minnesota, the mine formerly known as PolyMet. The company called the agency’s decision “unfortunate.”
www.mprnews.org

November 23, 2024
Burcum: Our stewardship obligations still require a no on this mine, this location
Minnesota’s beloved and fragile Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is unfortunately back in political crosshairs after the election.
www.startribune.com

November 12, 2024
Trump election could reopen path for mining near Boundary Waters
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to reverse the Biden administration’s actions blocking copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters. But there is a lot that would need to happen before any mine could open.
www.mprnews.org

August 30, 2024
Council gets update on New Range project
The Babbitt city council received an update on the New Range Copper Nickel Project.

Simon Charter, the company’s Community and Social Performance Manager spoke at a lengthy meeting on Aug. 20.

He said the big change for the company is that it is now a joint venture with Teck and Glencore “two giants in the mining industry.”

“Tech brought the Mesaba project here in your backyard to the table and Glencore brought PolyMet,” said Charter. “So we’re now this 50-50 joint venture between Tech and Glencore.”

He said the company has taken a step back to take a new look at the project “to look at how we can strengthen this project, how we’re going to get it across the finish line.”
www.elyecho.com

August 14, 2024
Developers of stalled Minnesota copper-nickel mine plan studies that may lead to significant changes
The developers of a long-delayed copper-nickel mining project in northeastern Minnesota have announced plans for a series of studies over the next year on potential ways to improve environmental safeguards and make the mine more cost- and energy-efficient.
apnews.com

June 20, 2024
Foreign corporations are vying to mine copper and nickel on the cheap in northeastern Minnesota
A 2021 decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court has given the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) a perfect opportunity to drive a stake in the most procedurally advanced - and potentially dangerous - proposed sulfide mine in the state. Will it finally take an off ramp?
threatenedwaters.com

June 8, 2024
Minnesota DFL agrees to legislative hearings on copper-nickel mining — and other labor news • Minnesota Reformer
Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round-up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond.
minnesotareformer.com

June 7, 2024
The DFL convention showed a curious alliance between labor and foreign mining corporations • Minnesota Reformer
Labor's unlikely alliance with giant mining corporations.
minnesotareformer.com

April 25, 2024
Minnesota Bill Would Reverse Long-Sought Protections for Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
If passed, HR3195 would re-open doors for a proposed sulfide-ore copper mining project in the famed Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
www.fieldandstream.com

April 19, 2024
Tailings dam design could change, NewRange tells tribal nations
The company said it hadn't abandoned earlier plans, the focus of a Minnesota DNR review on whether the mining permit should be denied.
www.duluthnewstribune.com

April 3, 2024
Let's not take clean water for granted • Minnesota Reformer
When faced with the most polluting industry in the country, shouldn’t we have, at a minimum, some sort of legislative debate on the issue?
minnesotareformer.com

March 29, 2024
After suit from tribes, Minnesota judge declines to overturn water quality standards
Minnesota revised its water quality standards in 2021, replacing many quantitative rules with more flexible narrative ones. A federal judge declined to overturn those new standards following a lawsuit from several of the state's Native American tribes.
www.courthousenews.com

February 27, 2024
Mining interest set to launch drill program within the Duluth Complex
Green Bridge Metals set to launch drilling exploration for copper-nickel near Lake Superior. Concerns about pollution and long-term impacts
queticosuperior.org

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